


The Line Where the Sky Meets the Sea, It Calls Me

by WildWolf25



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All the Galra are merpeople in this, Alteans are still Alteans and humans are still humans, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Blood, Cultural Differences, I couldn't decide between mermaid AU and college AU so I went with... mermaid college AU, I don't think it's graphic though, Injury, M/M, Merman Lotor, Moderate descriptions of injury, Stitches, humans don't know about merfolk but merfolk know a little about humans, just warning just in case you're extremely sensitive to that, marine biology student Keith, nothing like saving a hot fish-man's life and getting a boyfriend in the process
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-30 20:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15104690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildWolf25/pseuds/WildWolf25
Summary: Lotor, a merman, is studying to be a terrestrial biologist.  On the other side of the shore, Keith is a human studying to be a marine biologist.  After Keith finds an injured Lotor washed up on the beach, he risks everything to bring him back to his house without getting caught by his friends, and help him recuperate enough to get back to his life in the sea.Written for the Voltron Summer Gift Exchange, foraquaburst07





	The Line Where the Sky Meets the Sea, It Calls Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AquaBurst07](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaBurst07/gifts).



> [aquaburst07](http://aquaburst07.tumblr.com/), I was your gifter for the summer exchange! I saw mermaid AU and college AU on your list, and thought "hmm... which should I do? _Why not BOTH?_ " And thus this was born. I hope you enjoy it! I had fun writing it. I slipped in some hints of Disney inspiration, since I heard you like Disney (^.^)

Lotor frowned and tucked a lock of his hair back behind his ear as he flipped through his field notes.  This reef study report was the current bane of his academic existence; if he had wanted to study sea urchins and crustaceans, he would have just majored in Marine Studies like everyone else in university who didn’t yet know what major they wanted to pick.  If it lived in the water, Lotor was not interested in it. Even semi-aquatic creatures were of little interest to him. 

No, what he was really interested in studying were mammals, specifically humans.  Their terrestrial nature and intelligence made them dastardly tricky things to observe in the wild, and they seldom strayed far from shore even when they did venture into the ocean.  They were laughably poor swimmers, with too many gangling limbs and no fins whatsoever, but Lotor was interested in when they  _ weren’t  _ in the water.  From his studies and observations, they could run as fast as a mer-person could swim, their speech was lilting and yet sharp, so different than any marine dialect, and there was an undeniable grace to their movements through the air they so easily breathed.  Even their physical biology was fascinating, with their smooth, scale-less skin, their strange respiratory system, toenails like a pinniped, and their two legs that could bear their weight upright. Not to mention their cultural practices, which were still so shrouded in mystery; why did they adorn their bodies with cloth?  What was the significance of their jewelry and ornamentation? They were fond of sitting on rectangles of colored cloth when they came to the sea-side, but did they bring those everywhere with them? What were their oral traditions like? Their writing system? Their civilizations? What about…?

Lotor sighed and turned back to his report, sliding his field notes closer and clicking his squid-ink pen while he tried to find an academically-acceptable way to say that the spiny sea cucumber was, quite possibly, the most boring creature he had ever had the displeasure of observing.  Four hours of him getting buffeted by the waves near the tide pools for his observation hours, and all it did was vacuum up algae and move a few scant feet. A colossal waste of time, he thought. He was really only taking this course because it was a required supplement to the Terrestrial Biology major.  Some bull-shark-crap rationale about the reef being an important precursor to what they would study on land.

Movement caught the corner of Lotor’s vision and his eyes flicked over to see what looked like an odd disturbance in the water, as if something invisible was passing through just a touch too quickly to remain unnoticed.  “Perhaps you can fool your prey with that little trick, Ezor, but I am not so easily fooled.” He said, scratching out a few more words on the sheet of kelp he was writing his report on.

Ezor materialized in an instant, the sudden appearance startling a poor angelfish that took flight into the rocks.  Ezor pouted. “You could at least  _ pretend _ to be surprised.”  

“But then you would not get any better.”  Lotor pointed out. 

“Hm, I suppose that’s true.”  Ezor hummed, the frills alongside her body fluttering.  “Anyway, what are you doing skulking around out here?” 

“Zethrid was making a ruckus with her alchemical-physics homework.”  Lotor replied. “I needed somewhere quiet to work.”

“Oh shoot, do we have something due in that class?”  Ezor looked only half-bothered, instead resting on the sandy sea-floor beside the boulder Lotor was using as a desk.

“How should I know?”  Lotor’s voice hardened.  “You know very well that I have never set tail inside the alchemy building, let alone taken a course in it.  I don’t know why you lot insist on it.” 

“It’s not that bad.”  Ezor reached out and ran her fingers through the fronds of an anemone, petting it gently.  “And Haggar is really only mean to the first years and whatever gen-ed classes she gets stuck teaching.  Once you get to the higher courses and she  _ knows  _ you want to be there, she’s much nicer.”  

“How fortunate for you.”  Lotor said icily. “I can assure you, she has never showed anyone in her pod the same courtesy.”  She had been married to Lotor’s father for as long as he could remember, but she was not his mother.  They both told him that frequently, and reminded him of his half-breed status. His mother had been a land-dweller called Honerva, and Lotor was allowed to know little of her, other than that she had come from outer space to study the marine life on Earth before falling in love with his father, a merman.  He could only assume that, once she saw her son was clearly not suited to live on land, she had given him up to the custody of his father. Zarkon refused to discuss the matter, though, leaving Lotor to piece together his personal heritage from elders in the pod, but even they knew little. Lotor had learned more about humans from his academic studies than he ever had from his father.  

Beside him, Ezor cradled a curious cuttlefish in her hands, the single long tentacle on her head caressing the cuttlefish’s tentacles.  “I’m the more evolved version of you.” She whispered. The cuttlefish let out a burst of ink and jetted away, frills ruffling angrily as it changed colors to vanish against the sand.  

Lotor waved a webbed hand through the water to clear the ink cloud before it could stain his hair.  “No species is ‘more evolved’ than others, just evolved to suit different environments.” He reminded her.  

“Yeah, but mer-species of fish can talk.”  Ezor said.

“Clearly, that is not a sign of higher intelligence.”  Lotor shot her a teasing grin. Ezor gasped in mock affront and stuck her tongue out at him, but then giggled.  

“So, are you coming back for dinner?”  She asked, stretching out on her back on the sand.  “Narti and Axca want seaweed salad, Zethrid and I want oysters.  We need a tie-breaker.” 

“I thought you said Kova was the tie-breaker in my stead?”  Lotor said, though he started gathering up his notes.

“He’s a  _ lionfish _ , he  _ only  _ ever wants shrimp.”  Ezor wrinkled her nose.  “Plus, Narti lies and just says he sides with her.”  

Lotor chuckled.  “Fine. Looks like we’ll be having oysters.”  He could indulge her, since she took the time to come out here and see what he was up to.  

Ezor brightened.  “Great! I’ll let them know!  See you in a bit!” And with that, she jetted off back toward the city.

Lotor slipped the sheets of kelp back into his satchel and tucked the squid-ink pen into the pen pocket on the inside, then looked up toward the surface.  Far, far away, he could just barely see the orange glow of the setting sun as it bathed the top few feet of water in dappled light, too far to feel it on his skin.  He could feel a slight tug in his heart, something calling to him and drawing him toward the surface. Once he finished his studies and became a licensed terrestrial biologist, he would be closer to the surface, and that much closer to discovering his roots.

~~~~~~~

Keith set the bucket of fish down on the catwalk, flicking a lock of hair out of his face that had escaped from the small ponytail he had tied it back in.  The smell of fish had bothered him a little when he started coming to the Marine Research and Rehab Center, but by the time he finished his volunteering hours and was onto his internship, he was completely used to it.  Pidge sometimes lamented that their shared house smelled like a fish market, but it was a little unavoidable when six Marine Studies students, all with their hands in some kind of bio major, all lived under the same roof.  

The harbor seals in the tank under him came to the surface, signalled by little huffs of air as their nostrils flared.  They weren’t  _ supposed  _ to know it was feeding time, but animals were smart like that and it was hard to trick mammals.  Still, they had to keep their interactions with the animals to a minimum, so as to preserve their instincts and abilities so they could be released to the wild again after they healed.  No talking, no whistling, no touching unless medically necessary. Rehabilitation and release was the key.

Keith walked along the system of catwalks over the pools with his bucket, tossing fish into some pools and rigging the fish up on cables to drag through the water in others.  People in the bio-med engineering program, like Pidge and Hunk, had worked out a system of automated tracks to simulate movement, so the animals could practice catching moving fish.  Keith had asked why they didn’t just put live fish in the pools for them to catch, but the director of rehabilitation, Coran, had muttered something about an accidental breeding incident in the tank of a thoroughly disinterested sea-lion, and his moustache got so ruffled that Keith didn’t try to ask again.  

Keith leaned over the catwalk and peered down into the pool of a seal pup who had come to them half-starved to death and blind in one eye.  It was doing well, now, and pretty soon would be able to start going after moving fish. They would have to make sure it could catch food on its own before it could be released back into the ocean.  He jotted down some notes on the clipboard hanging beside its pool -- oh for goodness sake, it looked like Lance had come by and named all the animals again… this one was Beyonséal -- then placed the clipboard back in its box, picked up his empty bucket, and headed for the food prep room.  Inside, he found Shiro opening up the cabinets and peering into them one after another. 

“Looking for something?”  Keith asked, setting the bucket in the industrial-sized sink to wash.  He didn’t often find the marine veterinary student in the food prep area, so it must have been a slow day in their part of the facility.  

“Blender?”  Shiro said. “I’ve got an otter with dental decay and she won’t eat solid food.”  

“Third cabinet on the left.”  Keith pointed. “Hunk reorganized.”  

Shiro nodded and located said blender.  “What time do you get off tonight? We’re thinking of going out for Allura’s birthday.”  

“My shift is over at four, but then I have class at four thirty and a lab that gets out at six.”  Keith said, scrubbing down the bucket. A loud whirring sound erupted behind him for a few minutes, then shut off.  

“We can eat a little late.”  Shiro said, pouring the pink, puréed fish into a feeding bottle.  “We can call the restaurant for a reservation to be sure they’re available.”  

“Who’s calling?”  Keith asked, shutting off the sink.  

“Lance said he’d do it.”  Shiro said. He caught Keith’s pointed look.  “I told him he’s not allowed to propose Joe’s Crab Shack again, even just ‘for the meme’.  Pidge and Hunk will make sure he picks something acceptable.” 

Keith snorted.  “Granted, we probably don’t need to worry about him going cheap when it’s Allura’s birthday.  He literally fell in the dolphin pool trying to impress her.” 

“Keith, be nice.  That was his first week here.”  Shiro chuckled. “And his flirting skills have gotten better since then.”  He picked up a feeding tube and bottle. “Well, back to work. Let’s see if Ottery Hepburn will eat now.”  

“We really don’t need to name every animal that comes through here,” Keith called. 

“No reason not to!”  Shiro called back. 

Keith rolled his eyes and wiped his hands off on a towel as he glanced at the clock.  Crap, he would have to leave now if he wanted to make it to his class on time. He sometimes wondered if Alteans had less gravity on their planet, or maybe superior methods of travelling far distances, because the sprawling campus of Altea University’s Earth Studies Campus was… suspiciously spread-out.  It tooks him nearly thirty minutes to bike from the Marine Center next to the coast to the academic hub three kilometers inland, where unfortunately the bulk of his classes were located. That being said, the campus and buildings were beautiful and quite a sight to walk through or bike past, with strange and fascinating architecture and landscaping.  He had been tempted to participate in the very popular exchange program to the main Altean campus across the galaxy and see what the main planet was like, but that would have put him behind a full semester. Altea University was famous for its Marine Studies program, but the catch was that all that programs classes were, unsurprisingly, located on Earth.  That was why so many Alteans came to study abroad there. The professors and staff were a good mix of Alteans, humans, and even a few other species of aliens, and the academic advisors were far more helpful than his advisors at any human-run schools he had been to had been. It was one of the most rigorous schools in the world -- in the galaxy, even -- but it was run spectacularly and Keith genuinely enjoyed his time here.  They had one of the best Marine Studies programs around, far better than anything he could have found where he grew up in Arizona. 

Something had always drawn him to the coast and marine life, and he figured it probably had something to do with how he and his dad had used to live in Hawaii when he was a baby.  But then, from what he had heard, his mom left and his dad, heartbroken, had taken his son and retreated to the desert, citing a “much-needed change of scenery”, and that was all Keith could remember.  He had vague memories of playing in the water, a sharp but warm smile, shimmering fins, and purple arms -- a wetsuit, perhaps, or trick of the light? -- holding him and teaching him to swim... But he knew he had been far too young to be able to swim when they had left Hawaii.  His mind must have been playing tricks on him after so many years.

Keith came back to his head as he screeched to a halt outside the bio-chem building and locked his bike to the rack hastily.  Dr. Alfor was a man with a good sense of humor, but even he had little patience for people straggling into his classes late. Luckily, Keith managed to make it into the lecture hall just in time, as Dr. Alfor was having some difficulty with the projector and his laptop, so he didn’t notice him slip into the back.  

~~~~~~~

One of the best parts of living so close to the coast, Keith thought, was his morning run along the beach.  This early, the air was still cool and the sky still rosy, and no one was out and about on the beach aside from some seagulls.  Running on the sand was a good challenge, and he liked being this close to the water. It was refreshing, and the perfect way to start his day.  Just to those rocks up there, he thought, then he would turn and head inland so he could shower and get to class…

Keith frowned and slowed to a halt just before his shoes could cross a strange line of red seeping over the sand.  Was that… blood? That was a lot of it… was someone injured? He followed the trail up the beach and towards the rocks at the shoreline, stepping over tidepools dyed light pink.  Pulling himself up a small boulder, Keith looked down into the rocks and let out a gasp, his heart stopping in his chest. 

In front of him was a figure lying prone in the rocks.  At first glance, it looked like a horrifically-bruised human wearing a dress, but then he realized that the person’s skin was purple, and the long dress wasn’t a dress at all but a  _ tail _ with translucent purple fins at the end.  It was a  _ mermaid _ , with glittering purple and lavender scales and long, white hair.  And, he realized, a long, deep red gash cutting across their side. 

“Uh, hello?”  Keith called out to the mermaid -- merman?  It looked kinda male, but also sort of beautifully androgynous -- as he cautiously stepped closer.  He knew the protocol for rescuing injured and stranded seals, sea lions, otters, turtles, dolphins, hell even sharks, but there was no protocol for mermaids.  They weren’t even supposed to be real!

The merman’s head lifted weakly, sand stuck to his high-boned cheek, and he opened one bleary, golden-yellow eye.  “Oh, wonderful,” he groaned, and Keith was startled that he could speak. “In addition to making an enemy of the most bull-shark-headed merman around, and getting myself into certain death, now I have compromised decades of terrestrial research’s observation-only policy.  Fantastic.” He sighed. “Yes, dear human, merfolk exist, and I assure you, you’ll be able to examine my body in a few hours when I either bleed out or dry up.” 

Keith stared at him.  “I… what? No, no one’s going to examine your body.  I’ll--”

“Put me back in the ocean?”  The merman chuckled weakly, then winced as a fresh bit of blood oozed out of his wound.  “I’ll be torn to bits by sharks before I reach the reef’s edge. They’re not the most intelligent of creatures once they smell blood.  Even if I did survive, I would bleed out by the time I could reach medical care.” He frowned. “There are few in my pod who would even help me, anyway.  All but four would rather see me dead on the ocean floor.” He closed his eyes, looking exhausted. “No, leave me to die. It won’t be long, now.” 

Keith looked toward the horizon and saw the sun was up and steadily moving across the sky, the temperature already climbing.  He didn’t know how long this merman could breath out of water, but if he didn’t bleed out, he would probably dry up in the sun like a sea-star that didn’t make it to a tide-pool in time.  There had to be something Keith could do, somewhere he could take him…

His gaze came to rest on the fence separating the beach from the road, specifically on the ten foot-long, canvas banner tied to it and painted with the words “ _ Oceanside Junior High School Beach Volleyball Tournament, Saturday 11:00 AM _ ”.  He turned back to the merman.  “Wait right here.” 

The merman cast him a withering look, looking almost insulted at the notion that he was even capable of movement in his state.  Keith ignored him and sprinted over the soft, quickly-warming sand, looking around furtively before untying the banner from the fence.   _ Sorry, middle school kiddos… _  Piling the banner into his arms, he ran back to the merman and leapt over the rocks.  “Alright, I’m gonna need you to roll onto your back in a second.” Keith told him, laying part of the banner out behind him.  The merman grunted, but complied, letting Keith guide him onto his back on the banner. After shimmying it under him a bit, Keith tied the end of the banner tight around the wound on his waist, hoping it would be enough to stay the bleeding for at least a little while.  Taking the rest of the long banner, he proceeded to lift the merman’s tail and wrap the canvas around the length of it, hiding it as best he could. 

The merman let out a grumble of protest.  “It is polite to  _ ask  _ before touching someone’s tail, you know…”

“Sorry,” Keith apologized.  To be fair, he wasn’t used to his marine rescue patients giving verbal input on their treatment.  He tucked the remainder of the banner over translucent fins at the end as best he could, then tied the string around the base of the fins to keep it in place.  Keith sat back and looked over his work, thinking it would have to do. His arms and bare torso were still purple, but at least they looked humanoid if you didn’t look long enough to notice the slightly iridescent scales.    

“Exactly what are you planning on doing now?”  The merman asked. 

“Getting you to water.”  Keith said.

“The sharks--”

“Water without sharks.”  Keith said. “I’m gonna pick you up, now.”  

“What water does not have sharks…?”  The merman muttered in disbelief, wincing as Keith picked him up bridal style.  He was heavy, but Keith was strong and he would have to manage. Hefting his giant, canvas-wrapped fish-man-burrito in his arms, he got to his feet and started running inland, heading back to his house.  

Luckily, it was still early enough that few people were out and about, but that would change soon as the many students in this area would start heading to their seven AM classes.  He would have to hurry to get the merman back to his house before anyone woke up. A woman out walking her dog stopped and stared at him as he passed, but Keith ignored her and pushed on, arms aching.  The merman had wrapped his own arms around the back of Keith’s neck to help hold himself up, but the grip on his right side was weak from the wound underneath, blood already soaking through the canvas. 

“What’s your name, anyway?”  Keith asked, adjusting his grip as he ran.  

The merman let out a soft grunt of pain at the tiny shift.  “Lotor.” He said. “And may I have your name, before I die?”

“You’re not going to die.”  Keith told him. “And it’s Keith.”  The house was in sight, they were almost there.  Legs burning and arms aching, he leapt up the steps to the porch and toed open the screen door before shifting Lotor’s weight to get the front door open.  He froze when he heard the TV on in the living room. Someone was awake. He looked at Lotor. “Don’t make a sound.” He whispered. Lotor nodded and tightened his grip around the back of Keith’s neck. 

Keith eased the front door shut and cast a look towards the living room, where he could see the back of Pidge’s head over the couch where she was watching a nature documentary and chowing down on a bowl of cereal.  “How was your run?” Her voice made Keith’s heart jump, but he forced himself to answer normally. Thank his lucky stars she didn’t bother turning around. 

“Fine.”  He said. “Sweaty though.  I’m gonna shower.” 

“Cool beans.”  Pidge didn’t sound particularly interested or like she was even paying attention.  Keith slipped away down the hall and thanked a few more lucky stars that he had ended up with a room on the first floor; the staircase was old and creaky, and he didn’t think he could get Lotor’s long tail through the narrow space.  

Inside his bedroom, Keith shouldered the door closed and hurried to the attached bathroom.  He had no idea how Allura had managed to score a five-bedroom, four and a half bathroom house for only about a hundred bucks monthly rent for each of them, but he had never been more grateful for his own bathroom.  He eased Lotor’s body into the tub, but his tail ended up sticking out so he had to sit him upright. Keith unwrapped the canvas banner from around the merman’s body while Lotor looked on in confusion. “Cold water?  Or warm?” Keith asked.

“Cold.”  Lotor replied.  “But how…?”

Keith answered by turning on the faucet, and Lotor’s golden eyes widened as water gushed out of the tap.  “What in the Devil’s Sea is that?” He asked, aghast.

“Plumbing.”  Keith replied, mixing in just a bit of warm water so that it wasn’t icy.  Lotor’s tail flicked as he twisted it to coat the scales in water. 

“This freshwater won’t do.”  Lotor said. “I need salt.”

“Won’t that hurt your wound?”  Keith asked. 

Lotor just looked confused.  “Why would salt hurt a wound?”  

Keith opened his mouth, then remembered Lotor was from the ocean and closed it.  Saltwater probably didn’t bother him like it did humans. “I’ll go get some salt.” 

He made sure the door to his bathroom and bedroom were both closed before he crept back toward the kitchen.  Pidge had turned the television off and disappeared, along with her backpack, so she was probably off to class already.  Keith snatched the salt shaker off the kitchen table, eyed it critically, then opened up the cabinet above the sink to grab the big container of salt Hunk used to refill the shaker or whenever he was baking.  Oh, good, there was an unopened container behind it too. He grabbed both and shut the cabinet.

“Alright,”  Lance’s voice behind him made him jump about a foot in the air.  “I know you’ve got that kinda emo, perpetually-salty-at-everything sorta vibe going on, but this is excessive even for you.  What are you trying to do, make jerky out of an entire moose?” Lance asked, lifting an eyebrow at him.

“Yep.”  Keith said flatly, pushing past him.  “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” 

“You’re weird, dude.”  Lance tossed him an odd look as he reached for the cereal on top of the fridge.  Keith didn’t respond and just hurried back to his room, locking the door behind him.  

The tub was about halfway full, but Lotor did not look in any less distress.  If anything, he looked even more in pain. “Hurry…” he groaned. “It’s getting hard to breathe…”  

Keith flicked open the container of salt and upended both it and the shaker into the water, sifting it along the length of his tail and torso.  He emptied the entire shaker and about half of the larger container before Lotor’s eyes fluttered closed and he sighed. Slits along his sides --  _ gills _ \-- flared under the surface of the water and he tipped his head back, looking finally at ease.  

“Is that enough?”  Keith asked, turning off the tub before it could overflow.  

“More salt.”  Lotor said. He winced and pressed a hand to his wound.  The water was already turning pink and cloudy. 

Keith thought about it for a moment, then pressed the open container into Lotor’s hands.  “Here. Take as much as you need.” He tore off the plastic from the unopened one and flicked the top up, setting it on the tub’s edge.  “I’ll be right back.”

Leaving the room again, Keith crept past the doorway to the kitchen where Lance was humming along to the radio, and slipped up the creaky staircase to the second floor.  He lifted a hand and knocked on Shiro’s bedroom door, heart hammering just as loud in his chest. 

The door opened after a few moments, Shiro looking sleep-ruffled and bleary-eyed.  Keith felt bad; he knew this was his one morning without an early lecture. “Keith?  What’s up?”

“You don’t happen to have any suturing supplies at home, do you?”  Keith asked.

Shiro blinked, brow furrowing into a frown.  “I don’t like the direction this conversation is going…”  He said. “Stitches should be done by a doctor, not a not-yet-licensed veterinary student at home.”

“That’s… not an option.”  Keith said evasively. 

Shiro sighed.  “Keith, we’ve been over this; student health care is included in your tuition--”

“It’s not for me.”  Keith said. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice.  “I found an injured merman on my run -- I’m not lying -- and he’s in my bathtub.  He needs stitches or he’s going to bleed out.” 

Shiro’s eyes widened.  His gaze seemed to search his face, but Keith had never lied to him before, so he nodded finally.  “Alright. I brought home my kit so I could take it to the lab later today.” He disappeared from the doorway for a moment, returning with a blue medical kit emblazoned with the Rehab Center’s logo.  Nodding to Keith, he let him lead the way downstairs and into his room, then the bathroom.

They found Lotor with a hand still pressed to his wound, webbed fingers spreading the salt around the water with his other hand as he frowned pensively.  He looked up when the door opened, bristling when he saw Shiro. “I thought you intended to keep my presence a secret.” He hissed at Keith. 

“Shiro’s a vet--”

“Veterinary student.”  Shiro corrected. 

“--and he knows how to suture wounds.”  Keith finished. “He’s trustworthy, I promise.”  

Lotor watched him for a moment, then sighed in resignation, gills flaring under the water.  “Fine.” 

Shiro knelt next to the tub and opened his kit, eyeing the wound under the water.  “It would help if we could get the wound out of the water and a little dried off, if possible.  Keith, can you elevate him a bit?” 

Keith nodded and kicked off his running shoes and socks before stepping into the tub behind Lotor.  “Gonna sit you up and turn you a bit, don’t move yourself,” he told him. He didn’t want to push any more of the blood out the wound than had already been done.  

“The dolphins were right, this is humiliating…” Lotor muttered as Keith got him settled on his side against his t-shirt-covered chest, legs under his long tail.  He hissed at the sting of the needle to the tender, injured skin, then a numbness spread over the area. Well, at least it didn’t hurt so much anymore, he thought.  There wasn’t much to look at from this angle, other than the wall of the tub and Keith’s red shirt under his cheek, so he just closed his eyes.

Shiro worked quickly to stitch the wound while Keith kept cupping water over the gills that were exposed on that side.  Both had done this before on several dolphins, seals, and once a sedated nurse shark, and they managed to finish in record time.  

“Done.”  Shiro said, snipping the last thread.  “The numbing agent should wear off within an hour.  As long as you don’t move a lot, it shouldn’t hurt too much.”  He looked at the pink water as he peeled off his gloves. “I think we’ll need to drain the water and wash the blood down… I don’t want that wound getting infected, and bloody water can’t be easy to breathe.”  

“It isn’t.”  Lotor admitted.  “I can survive out of water for up to an hour or so, perhaps less in my current state.  Do what you need to.”

Keith slid out from under him and accepted the towel Shiro handed him, drying off as best as he could with his soaked t-shirt and running shorts.  He gave up on drying the cotton -- truly the fabric of death -- and just peeled the t-shirt off and dropped it in the sink basin with a wet splat. He turned around and found Lotor staring at him, but the golden eyes quickly turned away and he frowned at the corner of the tub instead.  Not thinking much of it at the moment, Keith grabbed the detachable showerhead and used it to wash the tub out and wet Lotor’s skin while Shiro packed up his kit.

“What caused that wound, anyway?”  Shiro asked. 

Lotor sighed.  “A knife. I was on my way to some field research and was stabbed by my father’s precious protégé: Sendak, the most bull-headed merman in the pod.  He has a proclivity for eradicating those he views as a threat, not that I’m even in the line of succession anymore, my father man sure of that.” He lifted his gaze to look at Keith.  “Thank you for saving my life. I surely would have died on that beach, had you not found me.” 

“I’m just glad I came along in time.”  Keith offered him a smile. 

Shiro zipped up his kit and checked his watch.  “I need to get ready and go to class, but call me if anything comes up.  I’ll, uh, pick up some more salt at the grocery store on my way home.” He added, eyeing the way Lotor was dumping more salt into the re-filling tub.  

“Thanks.”  Keith sighed.  “And you won’t tell anyone, right?  I don’t want him taken away to a lab or anything.”  He lowered his voice, but Lotor’s eyes still snapped over to narrow at him, clearly displeased with that idea as well.  

“Not a word to anyone.”  Shiro shook his head. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”  He glanced at the merman-filled tub, then at Keith who was still dripping wet.  “Feel free to use my shower, too.” 

“Thanks.”  Keith smiled.  Shiro wished Lotor a speedy recovery, then left, closing the door behind him.  Keith leaned back against the wall and sank down to the floor with a heavy sigh, unable to believe the past hour or so’s events.  

Lotor set the empty salt container on the ledge of the bathtub and swirled a hand through the water to mix the salt in.  “Your water tastes strange.” He murmured, despite the fact his mouth was nowhere near the water. Keith wondered if he could ‘taste’ it through his gills.  

“It’s cleaned and treated.”  Keith explained. “I think it’s groundwater, too.”

Lotor frowned.  “Strange.” He sighed and sank down to submerge his chest, neck and chin, but the movement pushed his fins and tip of his tail out of the water where they knocked against the faucet and knobs.  He really was too long to be kept in a bathtub. 

“How long do you think it will take for you to heal?”  Keith asked. 

Lotor winced.  “I can be out of your hair in a week.  Three or four days if you really want.”  

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that.”  Keith said quickly. “I just… that doesn’t look comfortable, that’s all.”  He gestured to the exposed tail. 

Lotor slid him a slide-long look.  “I apologize… I’m quite used to folk wanting to be rid of me.”  He said quietly. 

Keith… didn’t like the sound of that.  He stood up and retrieved his cup from beside the sink, plucking the toothbrush out of it and setting it aside.  Sitting cross-legged next to the tub, he dipped the cup into the water and lifted it to let the water pour over his tail fins.  “Do you not have any family?” He asked over the quiet drip and trickle of water falling back into the tub.

Lotor let out a heavy sigh, a stream of bubbles filtering out of his gills.  “My father and his wife, but they are at the top of the list of those would rather be rid of me.  My true pod consists only of my four friends, but sometimes… I wonder how much even they want me around.  They care for me, but interacting with a merman hated by most of the city has its disadvantages.” 

Keith could tell it was a sore subject that Lotor didn’t wish to talk about, so he moved on as he scooped up another cup of water.  “You’re from a city?” 

“Naturally.”  Lotor said. “There are very few nomadic merfolk left, these days.  Many prefer to live in the great aquatic metropolises where modern amenities are plentiful.”

“Wow.”  Keith was surprised.  “I’m just surprised merfolk have cities.”  That sounded so… advanced, for something he hadn’t known existed just a few hours ago.  

Lotor gave him an odd look, then his eyes widened and he looked around nervously.  “Sea stars below… do you humans not have cities?” He whispered.

“Of course we have cities!”  Keith nearly laughed. “We’re… humans are the only things that make cities!”

“Oh, now that’s just anthropocentric.”  Lotor chuckled. “My, my, that research paper from the Fin of Marmora’s psychology department was right…” 

“The… wait, what research paper?”  Keith stared at him. “How do you even know what a research paper is?”  

Lotor tossed him a withering look.  “I have been in academics for  _ years _ and am close to being a licensed terrestrial biologist, dear human.   _ Of course  _ I know what a research paper is.”

“Terrestrial biologist?”  Keith asked. “As in, you study creatures that live on land?”

“Yes.”  Lotor said, like it was obvious.  “Why would I bother to study marine biology?”

“ _ I  _ study marine biology!”  Keith pointed to his chest.

Lotor wrinkled his nose in distaste.  “Why?”

“ _ Why _ ?”  Keith was stunned.  “Because we’ve only explored about five percent of the world’s ocean!  There’s so much out there!” 

Lotor blinked a few times, then put a hand on his chin.  “...It occurs to me that our species could have been exchanging notes all this time, instead of hiding behind observation-only study.”  He said. 

Keith stared at him a moment, digesting this, then burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

~~~~~~~

Keith skipped his classes for the rest of the day, figuring it was just as educational to spend the day talking with a merman who apparently knew far more about the creatures of the ocean than any of his professors.  In exchange, though, Lotor made him tell him about humans and their customs, even seemingly mundane things like what clothes and electricity were. They both had their fair share of incredulity in the conversation, sometimes leading to misunderstandings that they could laugh about after.  Lotor was smart, with a quick wit and melodic voice, and once Keith got past the fact he was covered in tiny purple scales, he was downright attractive (although, if he was being perfectly honest, Keith didn’t even mind the scales).

As enjoyable as the day was, though, Keith couldn’t afford to take another day off, especially when he had his internship the next day.  He got up early and rode his bike to the fish market, purchased some locally-caught breeds that he figured Lotor would be used to eating, and dropped them off at home so he would have food while he was out.  Lotor had made a face at the idea of eating anything not caught by himself, but conceded under the circumstances and let Keith put the fish in bucket near the tub for him to take when he got hungry. Keith had to force himself to concentrate on his classes and internship work all day and  _ not  _ on the actual, giant, real-life merman sitting in his bathtub back home.  Next to his hated freshman year Intro to Bio class with Dr. Iverson -- an exceptionally basic and boring introductory class taught by a real stickler for rules and proper procedure -- it was close to the hardest thing he had gone through.  At long last, though, he was biking home again and fixing a quick plate of leftovers to take to his room and eat in the bathroom while talking to Lotor some more, and staying up far too late with him. 

Even as pleasant as Lotor found their discussions and time together, he was not used to being confined to a space smaller than the length of his own body, and as soon as he healed enough, his scales were itching to get back to the ocean.  The stitches hadn’t fully dissolved, yet, but Shiro said he was healed enough to be released -- after he and Keith made a few joking inquiries about his ability to catch moving fish on his own, as they “had to follow rehab and release protocol” -- and they started making plans. 

“Can I ask why there’s a pedo van in the driveway?”  Lance asked later that evening. 

“It’s not a ‘pedo van’, Lance,” Shiro snorted, reaching over to mess up his hair.  “And I rented it. I’m helping a friend move house tomorrow.” 

“Who’s moving?”  Allura asked over her cup of tea.  Keith glanced at Shiro, knowing they hadn’t talked about it that far, but Shiro didn’t miss a beat.  

“Oh, I don’t think you guys know him.  He’s in my astronomy class. You know, the one my academic advisor says is totally irrelevant to my major but I couldn’t resist taking?”  He laughed casually before changing the topic. “Hey, Hunk, need any help cooking dinner?”

That night, when it was so late that even Pidge was asleep, Keith and Shiro loaded Lotor onto a stretcher made for transporting a full-grown dolphin (“borrowed” from the Marine Center) and carried him out to the van.  Inside the back was a tarp spread over the floor, and several wet towels, which Keith used to keep Lotor’s skin hydrated while Shiro drove to the secluded cove where the Marine Center regularly released their recovered patients.  In well-practiced movements that were almost too familiar considering the unheard-of nature of their charge, they carried the merman on the stretcher out past the gently-breaking waves and into the waist-deep water before submerging the stretcher and letting him swim off.  

Shiro fiddled with a loose buckle on the stretcher while Keith watched Lotor swim around in circles in the open water, stretching his fins after being cooped up for nearly a week.  If he had thought he was beautiful even in the bathtub, he was absolutely stunning as he glided around gracefully in the moonlight, twisting with ease and sending light flashing off his scales and fins.  

Lotor tipped his head back and let the water run through his hair, looking pensive, then glanced at Keith.  “Do you return to this place often?” He asked. 

Keith had to take a moment to remember how to get words out again, too distracted by the silver moonlight on the merman’s scales and hair.  “I can.”

Lotor nodded.  “Do.” He hesitated, then quickly propelled himself forward with a powerful flick of his tail, almost knocking Keith off his feet as he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth.  Then, before Keith could respond, he turned tail -- quite literally -- and dove beneath the surface, leaving one very startled, very love-struck human in his wake. 

Keith blinked several times as the ripples dissipated, and licked his lips -- they tasted like saltwater.  He turned toward shore and found Shiro standing several feet away with the dolphin stretcher propped upright and was hiding behind it.  Shiro poked his head out around the edge of the frame. “I didn’t see anything.” His smile ran contrary to his words, though, and Keith shoved his hand through the water toward him to splash him, grumbling despite his own smile.

~~~~~~~

“Where do you think you’re going?”  Hunk looked up from where he was prodding at Pidge’s lifeless form sprawled over her textbook, fixing a stern look on Keith who was pulling his shoes on at the front door.  “Our Bio 570 final exam is in fourteen hours.  Our _g_ _ raduation _ is  _ next week _ .”  

“I’ve been studying.”  Keith said truthfully, slipping his jacket on.  “I need to take a run to clear my head.” 

“Are you wearing swim trunks?”  Allura asked, eyeing him over her flashcards.  

“My running shorts are in the laundry.”  Keith grabbed something small and silver out of the refrigerator.  “They’re basically the same thing.” 

“Have a nice run.”  Shiro smirked into his coffee cup as he consulted a thick study packet.  “Make good choices.” 

“About what, where to run?”  Lance quipped over his textbook.  “He runs the same two-hour route every week.”  

Keith snorted and offered the tired, studying group a wave on his way out the door.  He really was going for a jog, but the route was considerably shorter than his friends believed.  He was pretty sure Shiro was the only one who had an inkling of what he really got up to on Sunday nights.  

As he ran, the residential neighborhood thinned out into mostly unused forest land.  He ran along a dirt road for a while, shoes thumping rhythmically against the sandy dirt, before slowing to a walk as he made his way off the road and over the rocky terrain to the ocean.  It was low-tide, leaving little pools pocketing the rocks as well as a low shelf of exposed rock that had dried off in the evening sun, small waves lapping at the edge. Keith peeled off his t-shirt as he approached the shelf and left it and his shoes and socks sitting on a large boulder; dates with Lotor always had an inherent risk of getting wet.  

He set the small tin on the rock next to him as he sat down, letting his legs dangle in the cool water as he watched the moonlight dance off the waves in the distance.  A few minutes later, something grabbed his ankle under the water, and Keith looked down in time to see a white-haired head pop out of the water, golden-yellow eyes smirking at him over a sharp grin.  

“What an interesting specimen I’ve caught…” Lotor teased.  

“That’s right, you’re qualified to do that now, aren’t you?”  Keith leaned back on his hands. 

“Indeed.  As of today, I am a fully-licensed terrestrial biologist, qualified to observe land mammals from a safe distance.”  Lotor crossed his arms and leaned them on Keith’s knees. 

“Happy graduation.”  Keith smiled. “So is this a ‘safe distance’ to observe land mammals?”

“Hm, I think I could stand to get a bit closer.”  Lotor hummed thoughtfully. Keith chuckled and leaned down, and Lotor gave a powerful kick of his fins to propel himself up to kiss him.  Purple, scale-covered arms came up to link around the back of his neck as he did so, and Keith couldn’t really be surprised when they locked and he was pulled forward into the water.

“And after I even brought you a present…” Keith coughed up saltwater, not even a little bit angry.  

“Oh?”  That caught Lotor’s attention.  

Keith rested an arm on the rock shelf and reached for the tin.  “A graduation snack.” He explained, holding it out. 

Lotor blinked and cocked his head.  “...What is it?” 

Keith pulled open the tab and peeled off the top of the tin.  “Tuna. The fancy kind. Or as fancy as our supermarket gets, but it was the more expensive brand.”  

Lotor’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly in understanding as a quiet “ohhh…” slipped out of him.  “Thank you, Keith, that’s… very kind.” He said slowly as he accepted the can.

Keith lifted an eyebrow at his reaction.  “What’s wrong?”

Lotor looked hesitant, golden eyes flicking up to meet his.  “It’s just… pre-chewed fish? Do you think of me as a young fry?”  

Keith’s eyes widened and he let out a surprised laugh.  “Oh, no, that’s just how a lot of humans eat fish. It stores easier, that way.  It’s not chewed, just, uh, ground-up.” 

Lotor blinked and looked down at the tin again.  “How peculiar.” He lifted the tin to look at the side of it, tapping a claw against the metal and frowning at it as Keith pulled himself out of the water to sit, dripping saltwater, on the rock again.  The gears turning in Lotor’s head were practically visible. 

Keith swirled his feet through the water in little circles.  “Feel free to include that practice in your research.” He said, able to see right through him.  Over the course of their relationship, they had both run into plenty of cultural differences between merfolk and humans, but both being scientists, they found them interesting.  Keith still hadn’t forgotten the incident in which Lotor had gifted him a sea anemone bracelet, not knowing they were toxic to humans.

“I will indeed.”  After looking thoughtful for a moment, Lotor reached into the satchel he had hanging off his shoulder and took out what looked like an envelope made of kelp.  He scooped the tuna out with his fingers -- making a bit of a disgusted face at the texture -- and placed it inside. He then sealed up the kelp-envelope and handed the empty tin back to Keith.  “That’s non-biodegradable. I have nowhere to dispose of it.”

“I’ll recycle it.”  Keith promised, setting it aside on the rock.  At Lotor’s quizzical look, he went on. “We have facilities where we can break down materials like metal and plastic so they can be reused as something else.”

“Fascinating…” Lotor leaned his elbows on Keith’s knees, propping his chin in his hand as he looked up.  Keith recognized that look. “Could you explain that human process more in-depth?” 

“Are you asking me to trash-talk you?”  Keith smirked, combing his fingers through long, white hair.  

“I believe I am.”  Lotor smiled up at him, fitting himself comfortably between Keith’s knees while his tail swayed lazily in the water behind him.           

**Author's Note:**

> (They're both nerds, you can't convince me otherwise)
> 
> Please let me know if you liked it! I have a [ tumblr](http://gold-leeaf.tumblr.com/) if you want to see me scream about Voltron, or shoot me a request. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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